For the 2nd summer in a row, frounce is killing songbirds

An infectious disease is killing songbirds in Atlantic Canada, and people are being asked to take down their outdoor bird feeders to help end the spread.

Earlier this summer, Environment Canadahad asked people to take their outdoor feeders down to stop the spreadof aviantrichomoniasis.

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador issued a similar reminderto Newfoundland residents on Monday.

Avian trichomoniasis, also known has frounce, was a problem last summer, and this is the second consecutive year the birds in this region have been getting ill.

"Sick and dying songbirds are being seen throughout the island of Newfoundland," read the release.

Frounce is a parasite that is spread in bird seed regurgitatedby sick birds, and accumulates where birds feed. It can also accumulate in bird baths.

That means bird feeders often become contaminated with the parasite.

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For the summer, people in Newfoundland and other parts of Atlantic Canada are asked to take down their feeders, disinfect themwith a 10 per cent bleach solution and throw out wet or exposed feed.

They can be put back up in the fall.

Avian trichomoniasis, or frounce, was first documentedin wild birds, namely purple finch and American goldfinch, in Atlantic Canada in 2007, after an outbreak in the U.K. in 2005 caused increased mortality to greenfinches and chaffinches.

The parasite only affects birds, and has no impact on humans or pets like dogs and cats.